There are myriad hot hatch options in Europe. To be honest I’d do unspeakable things to get so much as half the hatch options in the US that y’all have over there…in addition to all of the wagons and assorted normal sized cars that get reasonable gas mileage, all the cars you can get in stick, the list is long. We don’t get any of that over here because like 80% of our country just wants automatic everything SUVs, usually for reasons they can’t even verbalize lol.
But I digress. There’s no need to give up on liking cars because you can’t get a GRC. That’s a little extreme. There are many, many spicy hatchbacks for you to choose from, as well as hot wagons which basically serve the same purpose but with more space. If a BMW or RS3 are too pricey, consider a Golf GTI or Golf R. They’re amazing options as starter enthusiast cars, because they give you a fun (but not reckless) driving experience as well as normal married man car practicality. I believe they still sell the fun Fiesta/Focus variants across the pond as well.
Look around, and have fun. The GRC is going to be amazing but it’s not the first hot hatch and it won’t be the last. There are lots of other cars available that can give you a similar experience. In fact I currently daily a MK7.5 GTI and it’s a hoot. I beat the crap out of it every single day and it hasn’t had any issues at all…plus it’s helped my fiancée and I through two moves. She’s basically said that she’s cool with me having anything as long as it’s a hatch, so you’re on the right track working that angle 😉
